"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness!" - Twilight Sparkle

The Mane Six were undoubtedly unsettled, their entire parallel lives being retold to them through Discord and his ability to see beyond the scope of reality. What they were told of their alternate selves, they were not happy about.

“Hang on now,” said Applejack. “Me? Ministry of Wartime technology?”

“I’m more concerned about the whole Ministry of Arcane Science and the unethical experiments,” said Twilight. “That is not me!”

“Tell me again why Pinkie Pie was in charge of spying on everypony?” questioned Rarity, looking at the pink mare with suspicion. Pinkie waved at Rarity with a smile on her face, looking excited.

“Does that mean that everypony knows who I am now?!” asked Pinkie with a big grin. “I mean, I guess it’s not too much of a stretch considering I know literally everypony’s birthday wishes, favorite food, preferred guests, social security num--”

“Yeah, yeah, we all know about your party cave,” said Dash. “What I wanna know is why the pegasi decided to just abandon the rest of pony society when the megaspells dropped?”

“Apparently they don’t like loyalty,” said Applejack. “At least that’s what Ah’m gettin’ from this whole story.”

Fluttershy had been quiet since hearing her part of the story, how she had been responsible for not only the megaspells, but that she had given them over to the zebras, thus indirectly causing this entire wasteland to exist. She just kept staring down at the floor while the others discussed their ministries. She was supposed to be the Ministry of Peace, right? What she had done had led to something that was much less than peaceful.

Zone and Taipan stood behind her, the two creatures exchanging glances with each other. Zone tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder, asking her, “Is something wrong, Miss Shy?”

“I feel like all of this is my fault,” said Fluttershy. “It probably is. It was me who gave the megaspells over to the zebras. I know I had good intentions in it, but... now Equestria is nothing but a wasteland.”

Taipan walked up to Fluttershy and smacked her across the face. “Not you who did that. A you did, sure, but not you,” she said with a lot more confidence than what was really needed.

Zone glared sternly at Taipan, her mouth in a disapproving frown. Zone patted Fluttershy on the back and said, “What my… bug friend said, but without the physical contact with your face.”

Fluttershy rubbed her cheek, a bit red from the sudden slap. “I know it was another version of me, but it was me regardless, my personality and feelings. I don’t know if I can handle what I just heard…”

“If you wish to talk about it, we may,” said Zone. “I’m sure your friends wouldn’t mind if we stepped away from this scene. It feels rather noisy here, does it not?”

Taipan snorted, and if one were to hear it, they would be inclined to think that she would agree about the noise. Fluttershy smiled in confirmation and left with them, leaving Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six to talk about their alternate selves.

Fluttershy walked into a room with a long table, where she saw a charcoal-black pony with white mane that had yellow and red line accents. In that moment, the pony shrieked, startling Fluttershy and making her shriek in return, the two mares now just screaming.

Zone and Taipan stared at the scene, not sure whether to go get help or to let this settle down on its own, but just as they were about to decide, the two ponies stopped, both panting heavily.

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy. “What was that all about?”

“Y-You’re Fluttershy! And you’re… a-a-alive!” replied the charcoal-black pony.

“Uh, yes, I am,” confirmed Fluttershy. “Did you know the other me?”

“Other you?!” repeated the stranger. “There’s two of you?!”

Fluttershy blinked, afraid of answering the question in fear of the pony screaming. Zone looked at Taipan and said, “I didn’t think we’d be dealing with this. But then again, it makes sense, as most no one would expect the six ministry mares to be alive in this day and age.”

Taipan shrugged before replying, “Should me take her out?”

Zone glanced over at the pony, answering to Taipan, “I think we should wait and see what happens first. Perhaps we might not need to use any force.”

Taipan shrugged once more before suggesting, “Should make plan in case something happens.”

As Zone and Taipan not-so-silently formulated their plan, Fluttershy and the pony continued their talk.

“Okay, I have so many questions to ask you!” exclaimed the pony.

“H-Hold on,” said Fluttershy. “May I at least get a name first?”

“Oh! Of course, how silly of me!” replied the pony. “I-I’m Velvet Remedy! I’m your biggest fan!”

“I’m… flattered,” Fluttershy said meekly. “I don’t suppose you know that I used to be a model?”

Velvet nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen the billboards.”

“There are billboards of me?!” asked Fluttershy in horror.

“Um, under your approval, I think?” stated Velvet.

“Why would I approve that?!” asked Fluttershy.

“Um… I don’t know?” answered Velvet. “I thought you’d know why? Then again, you said there was… another you…”

Fluttershy couldn’t seem to find the words to confirm that, not sure if she even should. “I…”

“Are you a… a clone, maybe?” questioned Velvet. “Or did someone change you back from your tree self?”

Fluttershy’s brain almost broke at this point. “T-Tree?! I’m a tree?!”

Velvet tilted her head, a nervous smile on her face. “Did you not remember? If that’s true, you’re probably a clone… That’s a little disappointing, but… I probably shouldn’t really complain about this moment.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m not a clone. I’m me! I’m just… from somewhere else?”

“She comes from another world,” clarified Zone.

“Let me make clear for you” Taipan pointed her tail at the new pony. “You hurt her you die.”

Velvet didn’t seem to know where to begin to ask questions. Fluttershy felt a little bad for causing the mare such confusion. To change the subject, Fluttershy asked, “Um, How was your week?”

Velvet, caught off guard by the question, answered, “A little rough, I’d say. We just began recovering from the most recent battle and I feel like it’s going to take a long time for me to get over what happened.”

“Oh, my,” said Fluttershy. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

Velvet’s ear twitched as she collected her thoughts. “I’m guessing you don’t keep up with the news these days. Not too unusual. A certain friend of ours went missing and that’s pretty much why there aren’t any news broadcasts lately.”

“Ah, you must be referring to DJ PON3,” Zone assumed. “I will sometimes hear her on the radios during my time in different settlements.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe her ears. “Vinyl Scratch is still here? After two hundred years?”

Velvet immediately caught Fluttershy’s confusion. “Oh! No, no! It’s someone else. The title of DJ PON3 was only passed down from pony to pony.”

Fluttershy thought that was a little neat, hearing that Vinyl’s DJ name was still used long after she was gone. “Oh, wow. It must be really important to some ponies, right?”

“To a lot, actually,” said Velvet. “She’s known as the wasteland’s primary source of news. If something happens, she probably knows about it, and even if she doesn’t, I’m sure she’d probably find out sooner than most.”

“Yes, she has been glorified as someone who is dedicated to, what was it she said… ‘the truth, no matter how bad it hurts?’” said Zone.

“Hmm, Name familiar but not know where from,” Taipan mused as she scratched her ear with one of her back legs, much like a dog.

“Do you not have radios near your tribe?” asked Zone. “Even my own home had a radio our leader would listen to.”

“Think so but me don’t know if worked.” Taipan clarified.

“What happened to the current DJ PON3?” asked Fluttershy.

“Enclave tried to get ahold of her,” answered Velvet, looking nervous. “She had to relocate elsewhere.”

“It possible but also possible she dead.” Taipan said, “Only way to know is find body of her.”

“Uh, no,” corrected Velvet “We’re sure she’s alive. I helped her with the relocation.”

“So now she’s considered wanted by the Enclave?” assumed Zone. “Why are you here then if you’re an accomplice?”

“Because they don’t know,” she said. “I’ve been keeping quiet about it and Study Guide doesn’t really care enough to do anything about me. I was planning on leaving later anyway.”

“Well, at least you’re safe enough,” said Fluttershy. “My friends and I have been in a lot of danger lately.”

“Your… friends?” repeated Velvet. “Y-You mean… you can’t mean…”

“The six who everyone in the wasteland knows?” Zone assumed for Velvet.

“They’re here?!” shouted Velvet.

“Only for about a day,” said Fluttershy.

“A day?” questioned Zone. “That’s funny. It feels like it’s been months.”

“Been day and half,” Taipan pointed out.”Almost two. Lot happened.”

Fluttershy could tell that Velvet was about to have a panic attack. “Oh dear. Maybe we should get you something to eat? You look unsettled.”

“S-Sorry,” said Velvet. “You don’t really hear about the dead coming back from the grave after two hundred years. You’re not even a ghoul! ...Wait, are you a ghoul?”

“No, smells totally different,” Taipan answered for Fluttershy.

“I don’t know very much about ghouls,” said Fluttershy. “I’m still trying to figure out why we went to war in the first place.”

“But… you’re Fluttershy,” Velvet pointed out.

Fluttershy really didn’t want to have to explain this. If this was how most interactions were going to be, then she’d need to practice a quick response that would answer properly and make the topic end faster. “I’m not the Fluttershy you know,” she said. “I’m from another universe.”

“If that’s true, that’s some seriously strong magic,” said Velvet.

“I would not say it’s impossible,” said Zone. “After all, there can be magic that we still don’t know about. I doubt the megaspells would have been the peak of it all.”

Fluttershy seemed to have a kneejerk reaction, flinching at that word: megaspell. Discord had told her what her alternate self had done, and Fluttershy felt guilty about it. She knew it wasn’t the real her, but… it was her in a sense? She couldn’t quite figure out how to explain it to herself.

“Are you alright?” asked Zone, noticing the slight flinch.

Taipan nuzzled fluttershy to try and calm her down. “It okay, mostly.”

Fluttershy appreciated the gesture. “Could we move on to another topic?”

“Perhaps we should introduce Velvet to your friends?” suggested Zone.

“I think that would be… a good idea,” said Fluttershy. It would probably help Velvet understand what was going on. She couldn’t explain it properly here, but Twilight probably could.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Ember didn’t know where she was. The first thing she could remember was flying beside Watcher. After that, it was a blur. She remembered consciousness returning as she walked down a cold, foggy street. She could hardly see a thing and the road itself seemed to go on forever, no matter how far she walked or flew. Every time she tried to fly directly up, she’d get an instinctive feeling, a grip of fear on her heart.

“What is this place?” she whispered as she walked.

“The forgotten realm,” said a female’s voice from behind her. She jumped in surprise and turned around to see another dragon.

Ember smiled nervously as she backed up. “W-Woah, hold on. Forgotten realm? That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

The dragon was pink and had dazzling blue eyes. Her form was much like Ember’s but seemingly much thinner, as if she hadn’t eaten in a long time. “It’s not,” she said. “But don’t worry, I can keep you company until then.”

Ember threw up her claws in confusion. “Until what? What’s going on?”

“Until the universe either remembers you or decides to purge you,” answered the pink dragon with sad eyes. “It’s okay, though. It doesn’t hurt.”

“You’re not making any sense here,” said Ember, getting a little aggressive, stepping towards the pink dragon. “I want to go back!”

The pink dragon had a look of fear on her face as Ember approached her. She stepped back, her claws close to her chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I even took this form to make sure you wouldn’t freak out. You dragons always seem more comfortable around your own kind than with any other species…”

Ember tried to piece the clues together, puzzlement on her face. “Are you a changeling?”

“Hm… no,” she said. “Think of me as someone who watches the gates. A guardian, I guess. I can’t do much to help your fate, really… That’s not in my hands. I only follow the will of those above me.”

“Is this pony magic?” asked Ember as she folded her arms.

“It’s magic and it’s not magic,” said the pink dragon. “I can’t say anything more than that. It would ruin things and no one would like that.”

Ember was getting impatient with this one. “Well, is there a way to get out of here?”

The pink dragon froze in place, her eyes glowing brightly before dimming again. “Ah… You may go back now…”

“Already? Alright, could you point me to an exit or...” and before she could finish her thought, Ember was yeeted back into reality.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Velvet smiled nervously as she held her centuries-old sparkle cola that she had packed. She had stood in front of the Mane Six for at least ten minutes, frozen and unable to speak. Although they had not noticed her just yet, she still seemed to feel like she was being judged, or at least, that’s how Fluttershy interpreted it.

Zone looked down at Taipan. “I feel she needs a little push.”

Taipan pondered Zone’s words for a moment before running up and literally pushing velvet into Rarity. “Confident,” said Taipan as both she and Zone glared at her.

Rarity stumbled back. “Uh, excuse me, I’m terribly sorry. Was I in the way?”

“N-No, not at all!” spouted Velvet. “I was just, uh, walking, then, uh, uh, uh,”

“Rarity, this is Velvet Remedy,” Fluttershy introduced for the half-minded mare. “She wanted to meet you all.”

Rarity gave Velvet a quick once-over glance before saying, “Well, the colors of her mane look rather bold. I can respect a gal who likes to try out new manestyle dye.”

Velvet’s mouth went agape a little before she collected her thoughts and said, “N-No, this is my natural mane color. I’m pretty proud of it.”

Rarity gave a warm smile. “Well, that’s good. A bit of color in a bleak world will always make everything look at least ten times better. I think ponies need that around here.”

Velvet blushed at the comment. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I’ve always thought it was nice, but hearing that from you is…”

Rarity tilted her head. “Hm?”

“P-Pardon me,” said Velvet. “I’m at a loss for words right now. It’s not every day you see figures from the past still living in the present.”

Twilight seemed to notice the conversation, as she walked over to Velvet. “Hello! How are you?”

Velvet stepped back. “Oh, uh, hello there!” she said. “I’m Velvet, and uh, I thought it’d be nice to… meet you all.”

“From my conversation with her, she seems to be a fan,” said Fluttershy. “I thought I’d introduce her to you all.”

As Velvet continued speaking with Twilight, Fluttershy backed away from the conversation a little. “Do you think there’s something wrong with me?” asked Fluttershy to Zone and Taipan. “I keep feeling odd, like I’ve been in this world before. I’m trying to distract myself, but it’s not working.”

“Didn’t we assure you that it’s not really you that did this?” questioned Zone. “Were our words of comfort not enough?”

“Oh, believe me, your words were very helpful,” said Fluttershy. “It just… the feeling is stronger than I thought.”

“Go, with it,” Taipan said as she tried to find a spot to look the others in the eye. Being so small was not always helpful when trying to communicate. “See where takes you.”

Zone looked down at the short midget scorpion horse. “Do you need a chair?” she asked. “Eye contact may not always be important, but you seem intent on doing so.”

“Tribe thing outsider wouldn’t get it,” Taipan commented before realizing the question. “Yes, me want tall maker.”

“When we’re traveling, I’ll be sure to find you something that should help,” said Zone.

“You two seem to be getting along pretty well,” said Fluttershy. “If only other creatures in the wasteland would do that.”

“If I may be fair,” said Zone, “it took me a while to get used to her. We did not always see eye to eye on our way over here. It was only when she helped me during a bad situation did I fully appreciate her.”

“Only did what needed to do. No more no less,” Taipan said looking away with a small blush. “Sides, be waste if you died.”

Fluttershy had a spark of an idea. “Maybe if we got the zebras to help ponies and get the ponies to help zebras, we could help get things back on track.”

“Do you know how stubborn my kind is?” asked Zone. “My own tribe believed in pure isolation from all other creatures. I can only assume all the other zebra tribes are the same.”

“Scorponies follow strength, food, and sex. Easy to get on side if tried hard enough.”

“Oh my,” said Fluttershy.

“It is pretty much almost the same with my tribe, but it typically has to be a zebra from within that tribe,” said Zone.

Fluttershy looked at Zone for a few seconds, something formulating in her brain. “Maybe you could help me?”

“If you think my tribe will accept anything I say, you are out of luck,” said Zone. “To them, I am a freak of nature.”

“You’re still part zebra,” said Fluttershy. “It’s better than being a pony while talking to them if what you’re saying is true.”

Zone had a look of uncertainty on her face. From Fluttershy’s perspective, she could tell that because of Zone’s feelings about her hybrid form, she was hesitant to try anything with the zebras. Zone didn’t fit in, and Fluttershy did have some experience with not fitting in. Fluttershy was a pegasus who rarely flew at all. Which is stranger still considering she grew up in Cloudsdale, a city in the sky.

She knew she could connect with Zone and help her get through her situation. “I promise, I will be right behind you,” said Fluttershy. “I won’t blame you if it doesn’t go well. You just have to understand that this could help everypony. It’s a chance to make things better!”

Zone looked at Taipan, noting that even though the two were as different as day and night, Taipan still came to help Zone in a time of need. Zone looked back at Fluttershy and nodded, that expression of uncertainty still on her face. “I will… do what I can.”

“Let’s get going,” Taipan ordered, more or less. “Others waiting.”

Fluttershy smiled at the two. She had a feeling things were going to go well as long as they all stuck together. As the three returned to the main group, Fluttershy could hear arguing…

“I’m sorry, I’m not liking how this sounds,” said Twilight.

Fluttershy then heard the blindfolded pegasus from earlier. “Miss Sparkle, surely, you must understand the situation. This will help the wasteland return to the former glory that was Equestria.”

“That is not Equestria,” countered Twilight.

As Fluttershy pushed a little past a few members of the group, she could see Twilight’s unsettled expression. “What’s going on?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight blinked in surprise before turning to Fluttershy. “Oh! Uh… It’s nothing. Hindsight and I just… have our differences. Don’t worry. This isn’t affecting our mission,” she assured. She turned to Hindsight, squinting her eyes a little. “If you’ll excuse us,” she said to him. “We have a world to help.”

It was hard for Fluttershy to tell what the expression on Hindsight’s face was, as she only saw one-half of it due to the blindfold. Was he angry? Calm? Maybe sad? Fluttershy was never good with faces, and it was harder to tell with his mouth’s neutral position.

“Um, okay,” said Fluttershy. “Twilight, if I may talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, Fluttershy!” Twilight said with a smile, seeming to instantly forget all about the odd argument. “What’s up?~”

Fluttershy turned to Zone and Taipan. “I was wondering if we could help the zebras first. I couldn’t remember if that was part of the plan or not.”

“Of course!” said Twilight. “After all, the zebras were literally one-half of the war.”

“I’d like to start with Zone’s tribe,” said Fluttershy. She smiled and gave Zone another look of assurance. “Right, Zone?”

Zone took a deep breath and let out a quick sigh. “Yes, Miss Shy. That would be a better place to start than any.”

“And maybe, if we can, I’d like to help out Taipan’s species as well,” Fluttershy added, looking towards the scorpony. “Is that alright?”

Taipan nodded. “Won’t be hard if you are strong.” She then poked Twilight a little with her hoof “May need work on that.”

Twilight gave a look of confusion. “Work on what, exactly?”

“Belly fat,” Taipan bluntly answered.

A look of offense overtook Twilight’s face. “D-Did you just…?!”

Fluttershy nervously smiled. “I’m… sure she doesn’t mean it in a rude way?”

Taipan looked at Zone with a tilt of her head. “What is rude?”

Zone rubbed the back of her neck. “It is when something is taken in an offensive way, such as if I were to insult a tribal leader and question his ability to rule, or if I am insulting someone’s physique.”

“Ahh, thank you,” Taipan said as she nodded in appreciation before looking back at Twilight. “Alicorn, you need to look like legends, big strong, not short pudgy.”

Twilight was dumbfounded at the words being thrown at her. “I… what?!”

“I am fairly certain… somewhat certain that Taipan does not mean any harm in the words she is saying,” said Zone. “It might be because her tribe still often has views of the noble warrior instead of just six ponies. After all, a hero is hard to come by and I think the scorponies may be cemented in their way of thinking due to how the wasteland has hardened most individuals.”

Twilight tried to piece together the information given to her just now. “Let’s… just get everypony ready to head out.”

“There’s no offense?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’m not going to answer that,” said Twilight, prodding her hoof at her own belly in self-doubt.

“Miss Sparkle, if you could just reconsider my offer,” pushed Hindsight.

Twilight didn’t seem to be in any mood to talk to him. “Would you go away?!”

Hindsight stepped back, gritting his teeth. After just a second, he switched his display of emotion to that of a calmer nature. “Fine… I’ll approach you later on, perhaps with better terms.”

Fluttershy knew that curiosity wasn’t always a good thing, but this seemed to bother Twilight. “Are you okay?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight took a deep breath before telling her, “This pegasus, Hindsight, keeps talking about some crazy, something I’d never consider back in our world.”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Oh? I’m sure it can’t be too ba--”

“He wants to hurt ponies, Fluttershy. The earth ponies and unicorns specifically,” said Twilight. “He told me we were brought here for that, but that’s ridiculous. The map would never send us somewhere just to have us do that. We’re supposed to solve friendship problems.”

Fluttershy looked over to where Hindsight was standing. He was on the other side of the room, watching or… not watching…? It was hard to tell with that blindfold on him. Fluttershy looked back at Twilight and asked, “Should we tell the others?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. They shouldn’t need to worry about it. He’s obviously out of his mind. If he tries asking me again, I might just ask Celestia how to deal with this because she’s always been good with negotiation.”

A sudden laugh from Discord rang out as he approached Twilight in his pony form. “Celestia? A negotiator? That’s really funny, Twilight,” he said.

Twilight stared back at him. “What are you talking about?”

Discord’s eyes darted up as if he were contemplating. “Well, if you were to see how the Celestia from this universe acted, you’d probably have second thoughts.”

“But our Celestia isn’t the same as the one from this universe,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Twilight, haven’t you experienced the memory merging yet?” asked Discord.

“Memory what?” Twilight replied.

Discord sighed with a smirk. “It’s a condition one gets when they’ve crossed over into a dimension where there’s another version of them. Staying too long can change your memories, replacing them slowly over time with that of your own copy.”

“What?!” exclaimed Twilight. “Does that mean I won’t remember anything from my world?!”

“Not until the merge between worlds is completed,” explained Discord. “You’ll slowly gain more of your other self’s personality because of the newly-acquired memories. The same… would go for Celestia and Luna as well.”

Fluttershy wasn’t liking any of this. “S-So, does that mean it could really be my fault the world is like this?”

Discord saw the terror in Fluttershy’s eyes, his own expression softening. “Oh… uh, I wouldn’t put it like that…”

“Great, you’ve given us another thing to worry about,” said Twilight. “Why not tell me in private instead of blabbing that around who is supposed to be your best friend?”

“Wow, Twilight, that’s really harsh, even for you,” said Discord.

Taipan bapped both Discord and Twilight “Enough words, won’t do action will. Sooner get done, sooner go home.”

Zone looked at Taipan for a moment before nodding her head and looking towards Twilight and Discord. “The scorpony is right. The longer we sit here arguing, the more likely the undesired scenario will be.”

Twilight rubbed her head as she gave Discord an annoyed glare. “You’re right, Taipan. Let’s get started.”

Discord walked up to Fluttershy, obvious guilt on his face. “You know I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings like that, right?”

Fluttershy wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. Discord was just trying to let them know the dangers of not finishing their mission, right? “I… I know,” she said with a soft smile. “I am a little worried, but we can get through this!”

Discord seemed relieved. “Now there’s a little problem I need help with if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Sure!” replied Fluttershy, smiling a little wider.

“I need you to help me regain my normal form,” he said.

Fluttershy was a little confused by this. “How would I be able to help?”

“You know how I was a mishmash of different creatures, basically a face only a mother could love?” he asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “Uh-huh?”

“All of my pieces have taken on a life of their own in the form of terrible beasts all across the wasteland in six different forms,” he explained.

“Oh my, and you want us to collect them all,” assumed Fluttershy.

“Precisely!” confirmed Discord. “I’ll be back to normal in no time… Well, my brand of normal.”

“Sure!” agreed Fluttershy. “Let me go tell Twilight and we’ll get started on our mission. We’ll look for your other pieces along the way!”

As Fluttershy walked up to Twilight, she told her all about Discord’s situation. Twilight seemed to be on the fence about it. “I don’t know, Fluttershy. He was pretty rude earlier.”

“Well, I’m sure he was only trying to warn us,” said Fluttershy. “You know he’s not good with being serious.”

“I guess you’re right,” said Twilight unsuredly. She turned to the rest of the mane six, smiling. “Alright, everypony. Are we ready to embark on an epic adve--”

“Not so fast,” said a familiar voice. Fluttershy turned her head to see… Study Guide, holding another one of those odd glass bottles. “DNA analysis was just completed. We need to talk.”

Study Guide scared Fluttershy, the older mare seeming immune to the horrors of the world. “Do we really have to do this?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’m sorry, are you in charge?” asked Study. “Maybe two hundred years ago you would outrank me, but right now, I’m calling the shots here. Twilight’s coming with me for a bit. We’re going to have a long talk. If any of you go missing before I come back, I will hunt you down.”

Zone rubbed the back of her neck. “This is an unfortunate string of events indeed. First the hellhounds, then the hatelings, and now her. I suppose it cannot be helped. We’re neck-deep in Enclave territory.”

“We shouldn’t expect too much trouble,” said Dusk Feather, walking up to the group. “She hates everyone equally, so I doubt she’d rat us out right now.”

“Are you sure about that?” asked Zone. “She looked like the type to kill you for booze.”

“I… maybe,” replied Dusk Feather, now sounding unsure. “Sure, she’s an alcoholic, and an asshole, and an unethical researcher, and possibly a murderer, but…”

“Ah think we’ve heard enough,” Applejack interjected. “The odds don’t look too good.”

“Yes, orange one right,” Taipan agreed.

Fluttershy sighed. This was going to take a while. She thought it’d be as easy as walking through the door, but they couldn’t leave without Twilight. They needed some form of direction, and Twilight was the smartest of the bunch.

As she pondered what to do, she heard a small cough, followed by, “Uh, hello, Fluttershy.”

She turned around, surprised to see that it was none other than Thorax. “Oh! You’ve caught up with us!” she exclaimed with a smile.

“I’ve been trying to find you guys for about a day,” he said. “This place is dangerous. I was attacked by some scorpion pony creature.”

“You mean Taipan?” guessed Fluttershy.

“If they had a name, I didn’t bother to catch it,” said Thorax. “Study Guide gave me some kind of repellent, so I’m a little grateful.”

“IF YOU DIDN’T REEK, YOU WOULD BE FOOD!” Taipan shouted from across the room.

“Reek?” questioned Fluttershy. “I don’t smell anything.”

“It’s supposedly undetectable to us,” he said. “Though I do keep smelling small hints of cheddar cheese and it’s been bothering me a little.”

“Well, I’m glad you could meet us here,” said Fluttershy. “I was a little worried. I hope you weren’t hurt from the changeling attack?”

Thorax had a look of annoyance on his face. “I was informed of it, but I never saw anything outside the lab. Study Guide refused to let me leave for a while until I gave her information on who I was and why I was here.”

“I wonder…” muttered Fluttershy. “If there are changelings here in the wasteland, then what happened to the Chrysalis of this universe?”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

“This is a disgrace!” shouted Chrysalis to the small remainder of the hateling group. There were only a few dozen or so left, but from what Chrysalis had learned, it wasn’t the only group of hatelings in the wasteland. She could go from settlement to settlement, gathering up her army.

Right now, though, she was furious. Her army had failed in their attempt to take over the tower, all because of some random pegasus and a hidden sniper. What was even worse was the fact that Twilight herself and her friends had been at the scene, helping to fight off the invasion.

“You are all worthless and weak!” shouted Chrysalis. “I gave you a simple job and you couldn’t do that right!”

“Did it ever occur to you that Cozy and I could have helped?” questioned Tirek, a bit more muscular than he had been before. Chrysalis was getting a little wary of this since she had first noticed.

“Oh, please,” she said. “Are you the master of espionage here?”

“Wouldn’t Cozy have been a better fit for the job?” asked Tirek. “She’s turned ponies against their own kind before.”

Chrysalis quickly closed the distance between her and Tirek, her face inches away from his as she stared angrily. “Is this a suggestion or an insult?!”

“I wouldn’t have minded,” said Cozy with a smile. “After all, we still have to stick together.”

“Enough of your friendship talk! Even when it’s weaponized, it still makes me sick!” Chrysalis exclaimed.

“Do we need to have a little talk?” Cozy glow asked.

“I am fine,” Chrysalis responded with a hiss. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself levelheaded!”

“Oh, right,” said Tirek in a sarcastic manner. “I’ve certainly noticed…”

“I just need to get more drones,” Chrysalis reasoned. “They’re scattered across the wasteland, so this could take a while. I don’t need your criticism, especially when you’ve fallen just as low as me!”

“I’m sorry, who was able to take on Equestria on their own without an army?” asked Tirek. “Was that you, or was it me?”

“You told me Discord helped you,” countered Chrysalis.

“I was using him,” corrected Tirek. “I’m a skilled manipulator, unlike you, who so clearly couldn’t get the enemy force to turn on itself.”

Cozy kept looking back and forth between the two as they argued. This was starting to get worse than the time they had first been forced to work together. “Could we just settle down for just a moment?” she asked.

Both Chrysalis and Tirek turned to Cozy with a resounding, “NO!”

“But this isn’t getting anypony anywhere!” she stated. “If we don’t work together, we might never take over this place, let alone find a way to get back home!”

“Well, maybe if somepony wasn’t criticizing my every move, I could think clearly!” argued Chrysalis, her angry gaze in Tirek’s direction.

“I’m not the one charging in and getting cocky because I think I know my opponent,” Tirek responded, glaring back at Chrysalis. “This is obviously not the average pony army we’re used to dealing with.”

“Okay, so, we made mistakes,” said Cozy as she tried to sound positive. “We can learn from them! We don’t have to keep fighting like this! Let’s keep our heads together!”

Chrysalis took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her own forehead. “This is getting… annoying, but I will keep calm for now. I just need to gather up some more drones and we can plan another attack, this time with more reconnaissance.”

Cozy smiled brightly. “That’s good! And Tirek, maybe we can help you get stronger so you can help us out!”

“It feels like Chrysalis may not want my help,” observed Tirek as he crossed his arms and looked down at Cozy.

“Oh, I’m sure she doesn’t mean to come off that way!” assured Cozy, looking at Chrysalis. “Right?”

“Huh?” responded Chrysalis. “Oh, uh, right, yeah, sure,” she said, waving her hoof dismissively. She was more focused on figuring out where her other drones might be.

“If you say so,” said Tirek, sounding very unsure. “Let’s hope she doesn’t mess up this time and turn me away. I’ve taken on more than my fair share of armies.”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

As Twilight returned from Study Guide’s lab, Fluttershy looked at her with concern. “What happened?” asked Fluttershy.

Study Guide came up from behind and past Twilight, looking at the entirety of the group, seeming disgruntled. “I’ve decided… I’m going to help you freaks.”

“Weren’t you pretty much against having us stay here?” asked Dash. “That’s a weird turnaround.”

“Oh, trust me, this is for my own benefit as well,” assured the tired mare. “Twilight will be staying with me for a bit. She has caught not only my attention, but the attention of someone else.”

“Woah, hold on there, partner,” Applejack objected as she stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”

“I can assure you that this is for the greater good,” said Study. “She won’t be harmed and she’ll be returned to you within a week.”

“We can’t just stay here,” said Dash. “We need to help the wasteland!”

Twilight shook her head and looked Dash in the eyes. “I’m letting you girls go on ahead. I trust you all to get things done with the zebras.”

“You want us to go out there without you?” questioned Fluttershy.

Twilight sadly smiled. “Fluttershy, I believe you’re all capable of handling this until I can join up with you again. I promise, you can do this.”

Fluttershy was having feelings of doubt. Although they had gone on adventures without Twilight before, this was a big mission, one that affected everypony. They’d need all the help they could get. Then again, as she looked back at the group of strangers she and the others had collected on the way here, perhaps the mission wouldn’t be so hard after all. They’d just need to get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“Oh, alright,” said Fluttershy, a little worried. “We’ll do what we can.”

Twilight gave Fluttershy another reassuring smile. “You all go on ahead. I’ve already left you girls a map. I found it while looking through some of Study Guide’s books.”

“Excuse me?” Study Guide interrupted.

“N-Nothing,” said Twilight with a nervous smile.

As Fluttershy and the others got together, Rainbow Dash walked up with the map in her wings, the crinkly paper spread out in front of her. “So, if we’re going to the zebras’ homeland, won’t that mean we’d be hearing a lot of rhyming, like Zecora?”

Zone seemed shocked. “I’ll have you know that Zecora was very much the only zebra I know of who rhymed. The rest of us speak like you can.”

“I’m sure Dash didn’t mean to offend,” assured Fluttershy.

Zone looked at the map, her eyes scanning every inch before she pointed to a spot near the very center of the zebra homeland. “Right there is where my tribe would be, meaning we’d have to pass by others, and I’m sure you know what zebras do to trespassing ponies…”

“Ah’m pretty certain we can handle ourselves just fine,” said Applejack.

“I’m with orange, but numbers can be a hassle,” Taipan spoke up, oddly sounding exceptionally astute, “Another thing to consider is the potential threats of said enemies. The likelihood of us encountering an enemy we can’t take down on our own is great, as we have no way of knowing how well-trained zebras may be in hoof-to-hoof combat or in magic.”

Everyone stared at Taipan as if she’d just performed a miracle, and in a sense, she did, her grammar improving for just one moment. “How did you suddenly get so smart?”

“Not know what you talking about,” said Taipan, back to her old grammar.

Zone leaned in and whispered to Fluttershy, “I believe she may have been possessed, but I am no expert in magic.” but that would contradict her previous actions of constantly attacking enemies without provocation or without any form of planned approach.

Fluttershy didn’t seem to think so. Some creatures had the potential to just have their shining moments. It wasn’t always constant, but it still happened, even on a rare occasion.

“Won’t Celestia and Luna want to come with us?” asked Applejack.

“We’re already prepared to accompany you on this journey,” said Celestia as she walked over to them. “With Equestria being in its current state, I cannot sit idly by any longer.”

“Wait, so you’re not willing to help us when there’s danger around every corner back in our timeline, but you’re willing to go with us now?” interrogated Dash.

“Twilight was sent to Ponyville for a reason,” said Celestia. “If I were to step in on every single occasion, she’d never learn. I’ve attempted to help a number of times, such as with Tirek and against Chrysalis during Princess Cadance’s wedding, but most of the time I must stay back and let Twilight mature.”

“Uh-huh,” said Dash, not really believing her. “Well, whatever. We need to get going. Is everyone here?”

Fluttershy counted every member of the group, her brain suddenly clicking as she realized, “We never did find Ember, did we?”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Ember wasn’t expecting her trip back to the wasteland to be so rough. After being tugged this way and that through a portal and almost losing her lunch, if she had eaten, she finally dropped face-down into the dirt.

Pushing herself up, the first thing she saw was Tenpony Tower itself. “Ugh… where’s Spike?” she muttered. Finally, as she turned to her right, it was impossible to miss him. There he was, standing quite the distance away from the Tower. She could only reason that the ponies here didn’t want to deal with him, as she could see several pegasi outside in full-body armor.

She flew over to him, hoping to get some clarification. “Uh, hey! Did you talk to Twilight?”

Watcher looked down at her. “Ah… I knew I forgot something for a minute there…”

“Uh, long story,” replied Ember. “How did it go?”

Watcher seemed to be in a bit of a slump. “It went… fine, I think. There were a lot of things I couldn’t explain. I never told her, but I think I’m experiencing memories that are not my own. I’m beginning to think there’s more going on here than I’d like to see.”

“That’s pretty weird,” agreed Ember. “What about younger Spike?”

“That’s another can of worms I’d rather not open,” he said. “There’s a lot I want to tell him, but I don’t think he’d be capable of understanding. He’s very lucky to still have his Twilight around.”

“So, what’s next on your to-do list?” she asked him.

Watcher scratched the back of his head. “I… don’t know. I’ve finally gotten to speak with her, but… something doesn’t feel right. It’s still not my Twilight… It’s entirely possible I might never truly get over it.”

“I’m sorry,” Ember said. “Maybe it’ll just take time?”

“Two hundred years, Ember,” Watcher pointed out. “I have been in regret for two hundred years. Even with this ‘fix’, it will take me a while. Yes, I’d said what I needed to say to her, but…”

Watcher clenched his fists, a roar of frustration emanating from him. Ember may be a Dragon Lord, but she was certainly no therapist. She couldn’t do anything to help him, not unless she could go back in time and tell him what was going to happen. Sadly enough, that was an impossibility.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Fluttershy and the others were just about ready to go. With them being in a large group, she felt more confident that they could tackle just about anything. The only thing that unsettled her was the fact that Twilight wouldn’t accompany them on this particular trip.

Zone and Taipan strolled up to her, with Zone being the first to ask, “Forgive me if I get right to the point, but have you ever been in a fight before? The wasteland can be brutal. Our trip here was fairly mild compared to everything else in this desolate place.”

Taipan nodded. “Lots of danger out there, big bugs, big guns, gotta watch your back, and big groups attract lots of attention but are also safer from smaller threats.”

“Oh, I usually try to stay away from violence,” said Fluttershy. “I like to think words can solve any situation, but that doesn’t always work out. Even so, I still stick to my own beliefs.”

“That… is problematic,” said Zone. “There are many who do not respond to kind words. Most will try to simply kill you.”

Flutterahy had a worried look on her face. “I don’t know if I could lay a single hoof on another creature.”

“If that is the case, then I would like to advise you to stay close to us,” said Zone.

“Maybe we teach you to fight,” Taipan suggested as she got up on her hind hooves and threw a couple of mach punches. “If only to defend yourself.”

“Perhaps we can do so during our stops,” said Zone in agreement.

Fluttershy still had uncertainty, but she replied, “I wouldn’t mind learning how to defend myself, if it doesn’t hurt the other creature.”

Zone rubbed her forehead. “This will… be a little troublesome, but I think we can make due.”

Fluttershy, in truth, didn’t want to learn anything related to physical violence, but this was a situation that was forcing her to do so. She could only hope that she’d never have to do anything that would hurt another pony.

Even during some of their worst battles, Fluttershy had done her best to remain peaceful. While Zone and Taipan were used to violence, Fluttershy couldn’t hurt a fly. She nodded and said, “I’ll do what I need to, but if there’s a choice, I’ll go a more peaceful route.”

Taipan shrugged. “If you sure, can’t force you to fight if you don’t wanna.”

As they finally set out, Fluttershy had the strangest feeling they were being watched. She could only hope it wasn’t anyone hostile.

Author's Note

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WE ARE BACK ON TRAAAAAAAAACK.

Somewhat.

And yes, we said "yeeted."